MOUNT DORA, Fla. — Now's your chance to come up with ideas to save the passenger train ride into Mount Dora.
- Mount Dora community trying to save Royal Palm Railroad
- Its rail lines are no longer up to standard for rail service
- More Lake County coverage
Royal Palm Railroad must end service April 22, because the 100-year-old rail lines are no longer up to standard for passenger rail service.
Several Mount Dora business owners are upset because they claim that more than 1,500 train passengers visit the city on weekends.
“Definitely there's going to be a negative impact on our shops. There's not a lot of parking in downtown Mount Dora. The amount of people it brings in, the amount of happiness it brings in, it's going to be an incredible loss for all of us,” said Kate Barnard, owner of the Magical Meat Boutique.
Another major stakeholder is the Mount Dora Area Chamber of Commerce. Its office is in an historic train station, and it gets hundreds of passengers waiting inside the air-conditioned space for the next train.
A workshop meeting will be held Tuesday at the Mount Dora City Hall at 1 p.m. The public is invited to attend the workshop, and the mayor is encouraging residents to submit ideas via email.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article said that the city would solicit ideas at the Tuesday workshop, which is open to the public. The city is not taking ideas from the public during the meeting, but the mayor says they will accept ideas via email. The story has been changed to reflect the update.